5 Ways to Make Clean-up Fun

#1 Teamwork

Go back and forth putting away a toy. You might even joke that they stole the item you had your eye on!

“I’m going to put away, hmmmmmm, this truck! What will you choose?”

#2 Tidy by Color

Move through the rainbow, first putting away toys that are red, then orange, yellow, etc. until everything is tidied.

“Can you put away everything that’s red? What about orange!?”

#3 I Spy

Describe an object you see that needs to be put away. Give your child hints about its color, material, or purpose until they identify it and put it away.

“I spy with my little eye something you like to pretend is a magic wand. I spy something that is tiny and cube-shaped.”

#4 Tidy by Number

Ask your child to find a certain number of items, then another, and so on until everything is put away.

“Okay find four things to put away. Great! Hmmm… now seven!”

#5 Time Them

A classic! Can they estimate the time it will take for them to clean their play space? Keep track of their personal bests and shoot to beat it the next time. You might even write it down somewhere in the play space, like on a chalkboard.

“Can you have everything tidied up in one minute, what about 30 seconds?”